Colombian journalist Luis Carlos Ayala survives shooting

[Judi Lynn]

Colombian journalist Luis Carlos Ayala recently survived a shooting in the city
of Cali. (Photo: Luis Carlos Ayala)

April 26, 2021 3:03 PM EDT

Bogotá, April 26, 2021 – Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate the shooting of journalist Luis Carlos Ayala and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

At about 8:30 p.m. on April 20, an unidentified man aboard a motorcycle shot and slightly injured Ayala, who works as a freelance photojournalist and often contributes to the independent news website Colombia Informa, in the western city of Cali, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Ayala told CPJ that he was at a friend’s house when a man on a motorcycle called out his name and started shooting at him.

“I began to run and move about so he couldn’t hit me. One shot grazed my chin. Another shot grazed my right arm,” Ayala told CPJ. He said that his injuries were superficial and that he did not require medical treatment.

. . .

Ayala told CPJ that he has spent the past six months working on an independent reporting project covering Indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups defending their land from business interests and drug smuggling groups in Cauca department, located just south of Cali.

More:
https://cpj.org/2021/04/colombian-journalist-luis-carlos-ayala-survives-shooting/